The tallest and most biologically diverse mountain range is Udzungwa, which rises magnificently from eastern Tanzania’s flat coastal scrub. It is made up of a chain of twelve enormous mountains covered in forest. These isolated massifs, collectively known as the Eastern Arc Mountains, have also been referred to as the African Galapagos because of their abundance of rare plants and animals, most notably the delicate African violet.

The dark, ancient forests of Udzungwa are genuinely enchanting; they are a lush haven of sun-dappled glades surrounded by trees that are 30 meters (100 feet) tall, with mushrooms, lichens, mosses, and ferns covering their buttresses.

Among the historic ranges of the Eastern Arc, Udzungwa is the only one to have received national park status. It is particularly exceptional among Tanzanian forests in that its closed-canopy forest extends uninterruptedly from an altitude of 250 meters (820 feet) to more than 2,000 meters (6,560 feet).